Apparatus for decorticating fibrous plants



. F. ONEI LL, JR. APPARATUS FOR DECORTICATING FIBROUS PLANTS.

APPLICATION map DEC. 8, 1916. RENEWED MAR. 1, 1921.

1,393, 19, Patented Oct. 18, 1921.

2 S HEETS-SHEET I.

01M my;

F. OfNElLL, TR.

APPARATUS FOR DECORTICATING FIBROUS PLANTS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC 8, 191-6- RENEWED MAR.7,192|- 1,393,819; Patented Oct. 18, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEEI 2.

1M WM/ 3L as UNITED STATES FRANK O'NEILL, JR., OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

APPARATUS FOR DECOBTICATING FIBROUS PLQNTS.

Application filed December 8, 1916, Serial No. 135,763. Renewed March 7, 1921.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK ONEILL, Jr., a citizen of the United States, and resident of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia, and in the State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Apparatus for Decorticating Fibrous Plants, and do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to the separation of fibers from plants, such as flax, hemp, ramie, perini, jute, etc., and the object of my invention is to secure the fiber to a maximum extent and with a minimum of injury and to do so rapidly and economically, and by operating upon the unretted stalk, and an object in the case of seed bearing plants, such as flax and hemp, is to thresh out the seed. 7

Hitherto the immemorial practice has involved the harsh treatment of breaking and scutching, in which operations such instrumentalities as corrugated rollers, reciprocating breakers, etc., have been employed with the inevitable result of injury to the fiber. By my invention the plants are not sub jected to such harsh, or violent treatment, but instead they are subjected to a gentle bending action preceded by a flattening treatment, which has the efl'ectof loosening the woody portions of the stalk from the fiber to an extent that permits the ready separation of the same from the fiber without injury to the latter, and for the attainment of the desirable objects thus generally stated, and others which will be appreciated by those skilled in the art when the nature of my invention is better understood from the following description, my said invention consists in the means, or instrumentalities substantially as hereinafter specified and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings I illustrate an apparatus that embodies and by which may be practised my invention, in which drawings- Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of enough of the machine to illustrate my said invention;

F Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 3 is a detail view in side elevation of the guard members of the threshing cylinders with which the machine illustrated is equipped;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 18, 1921.

Serial No. 450,459.

Fig. 4 is a detail view on an enlarged scale illustrating the action of the fracturing and separating devices.

The machine shown in the drawings is organized so that it has a frame conveniently built up of structural shapes, or members and'adapted to be mounted on wheels so that it may be readily transported and used in the field, but it has not been consldered necessary to illustrate the transport lng wheels, nor to show in fact more of the machine than standing of the construction and operation of those parts which deal with the plants from the time they are placed in the machine until the separation of the fiber is accomplished. The machine is provided with a slightly inclined feed table 11 upon which the plants are placed root ends foremost, and thus delivered endwise to the operating instrumentalities, which in the case of the machine shown, are, first, two pairs of threshing cylinders 12 and 13, situated, respectively, above and below the plants as they pass onward from the feed table; two opposing series of flattening rolls 14 which have smooth peripheries and are so ar anged that the rolls of one series come opposite spaces between the rolls of the other series with the result that the plants passing between then are alternately bent back and forth and pursue asinuous, or serpentine course through the rolls, and two opposing series of bending instrumentalities, which include two opposing series of feed and softening rolls l5. and bars, or blades 16 situated in spaces between the rolls, parallel with the rolls and having convex, or protuberant faces, or surfaces, over which the plants are drawn and bent, first in one direction and then in the other for the series of bars have an alternating arrangement by which this effect is produced. The highest point, or apex of the bending blades is situated in a plane beyond the plane tangential to the peripheries of opposite rollers where they engage the plants between them. In the interest of producing a longitudinally compact machine, the rolls and bars of the bending instrumentalities, starting from the last flattening rolls, extend downward and then horizontally backward parallel with and below the flattening rolls of the threshing cylinders and the feed table. If desired, a second set of flattening rolls 14* lead: ing from the opposite end of the machine is required for an under to the same bending devices, may be provided.

The protuberant plant-engaging faces of the bending bars, or blades 16,.progressively become higher and sharper so that progres sively the sharpness of bend of the plant is increased, but the increase is so gradual that the treatment of the plant is the gentle one desired, but which nevertheless results in the visions are made :for the separate discharge of the separatedwo'ody portions and the clean fiber, such provisions being an endless slatted conveyer 17 to receive the woody portions that travels beneath the horizontally extending portion of the bending devices in a direction parallel with the axis of the rollers and the bars; and in the case of the fiber being an endless conveyor 18, traveling-in the same direction in which the fiber travels in passing through such horizontal portion of the bending devices, to which conveyor the fiber is conducted by avertical passage ,19 that descends from the last pair of feed rolls of the bending devices.

Each bending bar, it will be observed, is situated between a pair of opposing feed rolls 15, and some are yieldingly supported by coil springs 20, whose tension may be adjusted by nuts 21, that are applied to rods, or stems 22-, which form the supports for said bars. Preferably, certain of the fiattening rolls and the feeding rolls arelikewise spring-held in working position.

On the side of each bending bar from which the plant approaches, there is a hinged plate, or blade 23, which reaches to the periphery of the feed roll from which the plants are to pass to said bars, and thus the plants are safely guided in their devious course. 7

It will be seen that by the action of the first set of, rolls .4-, the plants are flattened and thus placed in the best possible conditionfor the bending action which next ensues, since a flat body is more readily bent transversely than a round body and with less danger of breakage than injthe case of a round plant body, and thi'is flattened the plants are subjected next to the bending treatment which causes a, differential, or

sliding longitudinal movement of the woody and fiber portions of the plant which effects their separation and .the' fracture of the woody portions without injury to thefiber', this operation being facilitated by the progressive accentuation of the sharpness of the bends, and to render such action more eificaciousthe feeding rollers of the bending dethey are in good condition-for the ensuing action of the flattening rolls and any seed on the stalk is stripped therefrom and is delivered to the upper run of the conveyer 17, whose lower run receives the woody portions of the stalks andfrom said conveyer the seed is dropped to a discharge plate, or

chute 25. The two upper threshing cylinders are mounted on a hinged frame 26 to enable them to be lifted for the insertion of the plants to the point where theroot ends are engaged by the first pair of flattening rolls. For swinging the frame a lever 27 is provided, which at one end is connected by a link 28 with the frame, and. at its other 'end has a treadle 29. When the upper threshing cylinders are lifted for feeding in stalks as described, it is desirable to cover, or guard the teeth of the two cylinders. For this purpose a, curved shield 30 extending over asuitable portion of the periphery of each cylinder is pivotally hung concentric with each. cylinder, and by the arrangement of crank arms 31 and the links 32, which connect the crank arms in pairswith each other, and links 83 which connect one crank arm with the frame 26, and another crank arm with the hinged frame 10, the automatic swinging of theshields into and out of position upon the raising and lowering of the hinged frame is accomplished.

-One-of the important features of my invention is the cooperative relation of the re ceiving rolls and the bending bars, thatis,

the rolls on the far side of said'bars. That relation is such that the woody stalk is broken or crushed between roll and bar so that .it cannot protrude in pieces of any length fromthe fiber, and the fiber itself is a part of the instrumentality in causing the fracture and its separation from the stalk, because, as it surrounds the woody stalk and constitutes a fiber shell, or casing, the ten-- sion to which itis subjected by the pull on it of the receiving rolls causes the fiber to bear hard upon the. woody stalk as the latter passes over the bending bar. Thatcoopera tive relation of receiving roll and bar is one where they have surfaces close together and are preferably of greater extent than a mere line. a By making the opposing rolls of a pair of smaller diameter, a large Spacemay beprov-ided between the roll "delivering the Same and 'the bending bar, Without impairing the result sought, for the desired relative position of receiving roll and bending bar edge remains that causes fracture and separation of fiber and woody stalk by the differential movement of stalk and fiber and the pressing of the stalk by the fiber upon and into the stalk as they pass over the bending bar. This relation and action of the parts is best illustrated in Fig. 4:.

The action of the bars on the plant is essentially a bending one which results in the breaking up into pieces of the woody stalk, which being freed from the fibers fall from the latter. The bending bars do not act as scrapers to separate these constituent elements of the plant but they are edges or surfaces over which the plants are bent first in one direction and then in the other.

Only those bending bars that act in the earlier stages need be yieldingly supported, those that act in the later and final stages being rigid, or immovable, because of the partial decortication which has been produced by the time the plants reach them. The broad ideas involved in the invention which forms the subject of this application are the same as in my application No. 97972, filed May 16, 1916, and, hence, in that application and not in this, the broad claims are made.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is 1. In a machine of the class described, the combination of rolls arranged in two series with the rolls of one series opposite the spaces between the rolls of the other series, said rolls acting to flatten the plants, and plant bending instrumentalities to which the plants are delivered endwise from said flattening rolls and which comprise rolls and blades situated opposite the spaces between adjacent rolls, and the protuberant bending surfaces of successive blades being faced in opposite directions.

2. In a machine of the class described, the combination of rolls arranged in two series with the rolls of one series opposite the spaces between the rolls of the other series, said rolls acting to flatten the plants, and plant bending instrumentalities to which the plants are delivered endwise from said flattening rolls and which comprise rolls and blades situated opposite the spaces between adjacent rolls, and the protuberant bending surfaces of successive blades being faced in opposite directions, said rolls being progressively onward driven at increasing speeds whereby the plants are subjected to a tensile, or pulling action.

3. In a machine of the class described, the combination of rolls arranged in two series with the rolls of one series opposite the spaces between the rolls of the-other series,

said rolls acting to flatten the plants, and plant bending instrumentalities to which the plants are delivered endwise from said flattening rolls and which comprise rolls and blades situated opposite the spaces between adjacent rolls, and the protuberant bending surfaces of successive blades being faced in opposite directions, the apex of said blades progressively onward in the direction of travel of the plants being projected farther and farther beyond a plane tangential to the opposing portions of the oppositely situated rolls.

4. In a machine of the class described, the combination of rolls arranged in two series with the rolls of one series opposite the spaces between the rolls of the other series, said rolls acting to flatten the plants, and plant bending instrumentalities to which the plants are delivered endwise from said fiattening rolls and which comprise rolls and blades situated opposite the spaces between adjacent rolls, and the protuberant bending surfaces of successive blades being faced in opposite directions, the apex of said blades being projected farther and farther beyond a plane tangential to the opposing portions of the oppositely situated rolls, said rolls being progressively onward driven at increasing speeds whereby the plants are subjected to a tensile, or pulling action.

5. In a machine of the class described, the combination of plant flattening means, and non-traveling bending instrumentalities through which the plants travel endwise onward and comprising rolls and blades situated opposite the spaces between adjacent rolls, and the protuberant bending surfaces of successive blades being faced in opposite directions.

6. In a machine of the class described, the combination of opposing toothed cylinders to which the plants are delivered, one of said cylinders being shiftable toward and from the other plant treating mechanism beyond said cylinders guards to extend over the the teeth of the cylinders, and means to shift the guards to and from protecting position actuated by the movement of the movable cylinder toward and from its companion cylinder.

7 In a machine of the class described, the combination of groups of coacting rolls and blades with protuberant bending surfaces, the latter being in advance of their respective rolls, relative movement of plants and bending surfaces taking place cross-wise of said bending surfaces while the plants are i in contact therewith and roll periphery and bending surface being in proximity.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand.

FRANK ONEILL, JR. 

